Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies. Zeller Dirk

rather than a large number of private offices. A "bullpen" is an area with a large number of cubicles where most agents work. Everyone shares the space in these new offices, which also have private workspaces available. Usually conference rooms are available for client and prospect meetings. Today’s spaces are also more client-centric. They are more comfortable and inviting than the offices of old, where cubicles and private offices were lined up in a rigid row.

      In today’s offices, you may notice the absence of a large meeting or training space. Many companies have cut back on their training offerings or switched to online training classes, so they have repurposed that unused space.

      These changes can mean fewer laborious meetings and more time to generate business. Many tools and educational offerings are available in real-time, online environments. This office of the future helps you be more mobile and more effective with your time. You don’t need to feel compelled to come in each day or even every week.

Weighing All Your Options

      An agent choosing an agency isn’t a whole lot different than a consumer choosing an agent. All the choices look good (often they all look very much the same!), and they all offer a wide variety of opportunities. What’s more, they all tell you that they’re the best. So how do you choose?

      

Choose by weighing benefits. What advantages can you count on in terms of training, continuing education, lead-generation opportunities, opportunities to host open houses, social-media positioning, lead generation, and market share by joining one company over another company? You should also check the search engine optimization of the company website for your market. Also check common search terms for your area. If you live in Wichita, Kansas, I would look at “Wichita real estate,” “Wichita homes for sale,” and other common search terms. Does your company rank on the first page or even at all? Additionally, check on strategic alliances or marketing partnerships the company may have with third-party lead generators like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com.

      A larger portion of buyers is going to these third-party sites. What type of relationship does your broker or national brand have with these companies? Do your listings get enhanced positioning? Do your listings get exclusive positioning where you are the only agent who is highlighted for your listings?

      Check the technology tools and systems that are provided for free as well as for a fee. The new breed of agents needs to keep up with the technology options and tools coming out each month. Does the broker you’re considering lead the field, or is it running in place? It’s fair to ask the broker you’re interviewing with, “What’s in it for me? Why should I come to your company and your office?” The clearly delivered response will tell you a lot about the company.

      As you assess company choices, use the upcoming advice to evaluate how office attributes and company size match with your own interests and priorities.

       Choosing residential or commercial

      Differences abound in real estate companies. The biggest difference being whether the product the company focuses on is residential or commercial. While real estate sales practitioners can legally sell any type of real estate, whether residential properties or commercial properties or even businesses, frequently a company will either specialize in residential or commercial real estate.

       Residential

      A residential company will primarily sell homes, town homes, condos, and small-plex properties. Agents are not precluded from other real estate activity in the commercial realm but they often leave that market to specialists.

       Commercial

      Commercial real estate companies tend to focus on larger commercial deals. They frequently leave the small-plex properties, such as duplex, triplex, and four-plex properties, to the residential agents and companies because of lower sale prices and lower demand for complex financing options. A buyer can receive conforming financing for up to a four-plex property. This means that the same sources that finance a primary residence can and do provide up to four-plex financing. These loans are easier to obtain than commercial loans on apartments, office buildings, and strip malls. They also require a lower down payment than the typical commercial loan requires. There is an underserved niche in small plexes that might be worthwhile to focus on.

      Commercial companies in large and mid-size markets do the majority of the commercial leases of retail, industrial, and office space. They are the ones who handle the listing and sale of apartment complexes, office buildings, retail centers, industrial buildings, and land.

       What makes a great office?

      When I look at a real estate office, I evaluate how they rank based on the following list of attributes:

      ❯❯ Energy and enthusiasm: It takes passion to succeed at essential real estate activities like prospecting, lead generation, and lead follow-up. If you surround yourself with agents who lack energy and enthusiasm for the business, it will affect your performance.

      

When trying to determine whether an office has energy and enthusiasm, find out whether agents are excited to come to work. Also find out whether the office has a public board where agents record their listings and sales for the other agents to see. If the office does have a board like this, look to see if it’s full or empty. Are only a few names covering the entire board, or are all the agents represented? These boards are less common these days because agents don’t come into the office daily, so you may have to ask for a spreadsheet of pending sales activity, which gives you the same information. Also, if you can start with other new agents, it can help with camaraderie and commonality. When the going gets tough, and it will … it’s good to have a buddy.

      ❯❯ Reputation: Although you can’t count on your company’s reputation to do your work for you, you can bet that your company’s positive reputation will help you open doors.

      ❯❯ Experienced manager: As a newer agent, you’ll benefit greatly from a manager who knows the ropes and has experience taking agents to higher levels of production. Ask the following questions: What is the manager’s track record in raising agent productivity? How long does it typically take the manager to reach different production thresholds with agents? The right answers can dramatically affect your career arc.

      

You’re looking for a manager who has a track record of building successful agents from new agents. Effective managers have low failure rates with new agents and see more than 40 percent of their new agents become successful. That percentage may seem low, but according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), fewer than 20 percent of agents last more than two years in the business. A manager who can give you timeframes and statistics on his agents’ success is a serious candidate for your manager. Most of them can’t tell you these stats.

      ❯❯ Listings inventory: Does the company offer you the opportunity to establish some income over the early months by working someone else’s inventory while you’re creating your own? Can you post the inventory of other agents in marketing, social media, or online to generate interest and calls? What are the company’s online lead-generation strategies with its listing inventory? Do those inquiries go to the agent who listed the property, or does the company spread them around to all agents? As a newer agent, you ideally want a company that spreads the wealth. As an established, successful agent, you want the opposite. An established inventory gives you the opportunity to create buyers and income by working open houses, ad calls, and sign calls.

      ❯❯ Training focus: Look into how well the company handles the two major areas of training: initial training (so you can earn an income) and ongoing training (so you can build and grow your business). Training options have exploded in the past few years, especially with online classes and programs, videos, webinars, and other opportunities.

      Most companies are still behind the curve in online training. Online training can mean either live or recorded sessions. In having personally taught more than 3,000 live online sessions, I can attest that a wonderfully designed